The impact of vitamin E supplementation on semen parameters and pregnancy rates after varicocelectomy: a randomised controlled study.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of vitamin E supplementation on semen parameters and pregnancy after varicocelectomy. Forty-five infertile male patients who were diagnosed with varicocele and underwent subinguinal varicocelectomy were included in the study. After performing subinguinal varicocelectomy, the patients were randomised into two groups: 22 receiving vitamin E for 12 months, and 23 as the control group without receiving any supplementation. The pre-operative parameters of semen analyses and pregnancy rates of both groups were compared with those of post-operative parameters. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of sperm count and motile sperm percentage, in pre-operative, post-operative 3rd month, post-operative 6th month and post-operative 12th month periods. Repeated-measures anova was performed, and sperm count, percentage of change in sperm count, motile sperm count and percentage of change in motile sperm count of the groups were compared. The administration of vitamin E increased all of these parameters; however, they were not found to be statistically significant. In conclusion, vitamin E supplementation might improve the sperm parameters after varicocelectomy; however, further studies including larger number of samples are needed to make a proper decision on vitamin E supplementation after varicocelectomy.

Evaluation of blood platelet count and function in patients with erectile dysfunction.

We evaluated and compared blood total platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) values of patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) and control subjects. A total 57 male patients (mean age 49.7 ± 12 years) with ED and 59 control men (mean age 49.7 ± 10.7 years) were included in the study. All patients were evaluated using medical history with International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) scores, physical examination and routine blood analysis. Total blood count, including white blood cell (WBC), total platelet counts, MPV and PDW parameters, were recorded in both groups. MPV values were detected to be significantly higher in patients with ED than control group: 10.7 ± 1 and 9.72 ± 1.5, respectively (P = 0.001). Similarly, PDW values were significantly higher in patients with ED than control group: 14.6 ± 2.8 and 12.9 ± 1.9, respectively (P = 0.001). However, mean platelet and mean WBC counts were similar in both groups (P = 0.45). We demonstrated that MPV and PDW values significantly increased in patients with ED compared with the control group. According to these findings, platelet function might play an important role in patients with ED that warrants further research.